European Union leaders are set to hold an emergency summit on February 24 in Brussels to discuss next steps on how to deal with Russia as Ukraine and the world brace for a possible large scale Russian military offensive.
European Council President Charles Michel said in his invitation to the in-person meeting that the “use of force and coercion to change borders has no place in the 21st century.”
The meeting will take place as a nationwide 30-day state of emergency takes effect in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed the introduction of the state of emergency for all of Ukraine except for two eastern regions where a state of emergency has been in place since 2014.
The measure was overwhelmingly approved on the same day in which several developments heightened fears that Europe is sliding toward a massive conflict.
After weeks of trying to project calm, Kyiv mobilized reservists and urged its citizens living in Russia to leave. Moscow began to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv and Washington stepped up its warnings about the chances of an all-out Russian attack.
Ukraine said it was the target of another cyberattack affecting multiple government and banking websites, and the United States announced sanctions against the operating company of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world is "facing a moment of peril," and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned that an all-out Russian invasion could displace 5 million people, triggering a new European refugee crisis.
"The tidal waves of suffering this war will cause are unthinkable," she said.
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba pleaded with the United Nations to hold Moscow accountable for what he called its attack on "the core principles of international law."
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said more than 150,000 Russian troops are arrayed along Ukraine’s borders in an advanced state of readiness.
The posture of the forces “leads us to believe that we are potentially close to a large-scale action,” Kirby told a briefing. “Russian forces continue to assemble closer to the border and put themselves in an advanced state of readiness to act. We believe that they are ready.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said late on February 23 that the leaders of pro-Russia separatist forces in eastern Ukraine had requested military support from President Vladimir Putin.
In a statement carried by Russian state news agencies, Peskov said the leaders wrote to Putin to claim that shelling by the Ukrainian military had caused civilian deaths and forced many people to flee.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the separatists' request for Russian help was an example of the sort of “false flag” operation that the West had warned Moscow would use to create a pretext for war.
Putin inflamed already heightened tensions earlier this week when he signed decrees recognizing the independence bids of Moscow-backed separatists who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine. The Russian parliament subsequently approved his request to use military force outside the country.
Over the past few days, the security situation in eastern Ukraine has deteriorated significantly, and reports from some areas indicate Russia-backed separatists have increased their shelling.
The State Emergency Service said it was temporarily suspending its work at four checkpoints because of the shelling. The tents are being torn down and the personnel removed, a statement from the service said.
Ukrainian soldiers in Novoluhanske in the Donetsk region of Ukraine told RFE/RL that several shells fired on February 23 hit houses there, killing one civilian.
Ukrainian soldiers in Novoluhanske and Horlivka said that the shelling had become more accurate, which they say indicates the presence of the Russian military in the separatist-controlled areas.
Shelling across the line of contact is not unusual, they say, adding that there is no talk of a large-scale offensive yet.
The Ukrainian forces also reported shelling on February 22 that hit a house in the village of Tryokhizbenka, according to a correspondent with RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service. The shelling came from BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket systems and struck in areas where people live, the Ukrainian forces said.
The explosion also damaged several apartments, forcing civilians to seek shelter in a bunker with Ukrainian soldiers.